1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a character pattern generator which can be attached to an output device, for storing patterns of, e.g., characters, figures, and the like in a format other than a dot image, converting the stored character or figure pattern into a dot image, and outputting the dot image to the output device.
2. Related Background Art
In a detachable character pattern generator for storing patterns of characters, figures, and the like in a format other than a dot image which can be displayed or printed without processing, an output of this generator is its stored content itself, and processing for converting the output into a displayable or printable dot image must be performed by a device (to be referred to as an "output device" hereinafter) to which the detachable character pattern generator is attached.
However, since the conventional processing for converting the output from the generator into a displayable or printable dot image is performed in the output device, the following drawbacks are posed.
(1) A processing load of the output device is increased, and the entire processing speed is decreased. PA1 (2) The generator must store a character pattern in a format corresponding to a processing algorithm for converting the stored pattern into a printable dot image of the output device.